Thursdays – Dawn’s Devotions for Writers“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Matthew 6:21 NIV)
Have you ever needed to revisit something you’ve written?
Not for editing purposes, not to recall where you left a character in limbo two days prior, and not to remember the heroine’s eye color.
I’m talking about an encouraging note written to a friend, something that hits on your manuscript’s spiritual theme, or in my case—a devotion.
Last week’s devotion was titled, “Where is Your Treasure?” I wrote, “I want my treasure to be my relationship with Christ—loving, honoring, and serving him. I want my desire for him to be the true joy of my heart.”
I needed to read that again after this past week.
As a goal-oriented person, I strive to cross things off a list each day. On a professional level, those tasks may include editing projects for clients, working on my own manuscript, writing blog articles, keeping up with e-mail, and networking. Like you, there are always household tasks and errands to tack on.
Some days, it’s impossible to get through the list. So you add what doesn’t get accomplished to tomorrow’s assignments and hope to do better. But, I didn't.
Instead, I became frustrated.
My oldest daughter called—in the middle of the day—to talk. She’s in the midst of making important decisions and needed to bounce some things off me. We spent two hours on the phone.
My youngest asked me to attend a function at the school where she’s employed. My mother called from out-of-state to chat. A friend needed to vent about struggles in her life. Another friend e-mailed with information and questions that required lengthy responses. My husband experienced several rough days at work and needed to verbally decompress as soon as he arrived home. And the interruptions continued . . .
I know some people who work at home don’t answer the phone or e-mail until a given time. I’m not one of those people. So I felt I was getting further and further behind where I wanted to be on any given day.
And along with being frustrated, I became a bit irritated.
Then the truth hit.
My feelings weren’t directed at my family and friends.
I was frustrated that I wasn’t meeting self-imposed deadlines. I wasn’t meeting my own expectations. No one else was affected. I didn’t have a client begging to have an edit returned sooner than later. My manuscript wasn’t on deadline for a publisher.
I love that my kids want to talk and spend time with me. I need to be the one my husband goes to and shares his day. And I want to be the supportive and caring person my friends deserve.
People are more important than my work. I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I would never let writing come before family and friends.
After all, what sense does it make? What good does it accomplish to write a novel filled with deep, spiritual themes, if I can’t take the time to minister to those around me? “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Matthew 25:45 NIV).
Ahead of writing, God has placed me here to help care for his people. Along with him, that’s where my heart needs to be and my treasure found.
Dawn
